A Turkish court has blocked a government attempt to force police and prosecutors to disclose investigations to their superiors. The move comes amid a high-profile graft scandal that has brought down members of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s cabinet.

The Council of State, Turkey’s top administrative court, barred
the regulation on Friday. The government’s attempt had been
slammed by Erdogan’s critics as a way to stifle the corruption
probe involving businessmen and some high-profile figures,
including the sons of three ministers.

A lawsuit against the controversial regulation had been filed to
the Council by the Ankara Bar Association.

The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) also accused
the document of being unconstitutional and violating the
principle of the separation of powers.

The chamber chairman of the Council personally reviewed the case
instead of handing it over to a subordinate judge, as is
typically done, bianet.org reported.

Just one day earlier, a prosecutor overseeing the inquiry said
the country’s security forces were interfering with the probe,
preventing arrests, disobeying court orders, and letting suspects
off the hook. After the case was taken from him, Muammer Akkas
issued a written statement revealing the details of the case
against businessmen and officials’ involvement in bribery and
corruption.

Turkey's public "should be aware that I, as public
prosecutor, have been prevented from launching an
investigation," Akkas said in a statement to local media.

Police ignored court orders to detain the suspects and search
their apartments.

"By means of the police force, the judiciary was subjected to
open pressure, and the execution of court orders was
obstructed," Akkas said.

"A crime has been committed throughout the chain of command
... Suspects have been allowed to take precautions, flee and
tamper with the evidence," the prosecutor added.

In response to the charges, Turkey's chief prosecutor, Turhan
Colakkadi, said that Akkas was removed from the investigation
because he leaked information to the media and failed to report
the progress of the investigation to his superiors.

The regulation requiring police investigators to share their
findings with their superiors was issued on December 21. The move
came shortly after the corruption scandal erupted on December 17,
which led to the detention of ministers’ sons, as well as the
resignations of their fathers. This was followed by a major
government reshuffle.

On Wednesday, Erdogan replaced the outgoing ministers with his
loyalists. Ten of the 26 ministers in the cabinet have been
replaced.

The outgoing environment minister, Erdogan Bayraktar, told NTV
television that he had been pressured to quit, stating, "I
believe the prime minister should also resign."

Adding a new twist to the drama, Turkish media published on
Thursday what it claimed to be a subpoena issued to Bilal Erdogan
- one of the premier's two sons - to testify as a suspect in the
corruption investigation. However, the authenticity of the
document could not be immediately verified, Reuters reported.

As public outrage over the developing corruption scandal
continues to grow, Erdogan has denied any wrongdoing and has
denounced the investigation as a plot orchestrated by foreign and
Turkish forces to discredit his government ahead of local
elections in March.

On Friday, Erdogan criticized the HSYK over its stance against
the governmental decree.

“The HSYK has broken the law,” he said, as quoted by
Hurriyet Daily News. He said the Board violated the constitution
by making a statement on the change of procedures of law while
the case was still continuing in the Administrative Court.